The Trylon and Perisphere were two monumental modernistic structures designed by architects
Wallace Harrison and
J. Andre Fouilhoux that were together known as the Theme Center of the
1939 New York World's Fair. The Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet (55 m) in diameter, connected to the 610-foot (190 m) spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator. The Perisphere housed a
diorama by
Henry Dreyfuss called Democracity which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow", depicted a utopian city-of-the-future. The interior display was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk, while a multi-image slide presentation was projected on the dome of the sphere. After exiting the Perisphere, visitors descended to ground level on the third element of the Theme Center, the Helicline, a 950-foot-long (290 m) spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere.
The name "Perisphere" was coined using the Greek prefix peri-, meaning "all around", "about", or "enclosing". The name "Trylon" was coined from the phrase "triangular pylon".[1]
The Trylon and Perisphere became the central symbol of the 1939 World's Fair, its image reproduced by the millions on a wide range of promotional materials and serving as the fairground's focal point.[2] The United States issued a postage stamp in 1939 depicting the Trylon and Perisphere (pictured). Neither structure survives; however, the
Unisphere, the symbol of the 1964–65 New York World's Fair, is now located where the Perisphere once stood.
In culture
In 1939, all three of New York City's major league baseball teams wore a patch on their uniform sleeve depicting the Trylon and Perisphere.
Composer (and Rhapsody in Blue orchestrator)
Ferde Grofé was commissioned by the World's Fair to compose a piece of symphonic music dedicated to the sculptured edifices.
The New Yorker published a
George Price cartoon in which two men dressed as the Trylon and Perisphere approach the World's Fair office, one saying, "If this doesn't get us in, nothing will."
The
Trylon Theatre, located on
Queens Boulevard in
Forest Hills, Queens, operated from December 1939 through December 1999. The theatre's decor included several references to the 1939–40 World's Fair.
In the 1941 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith the characters go to the fair. The actual structures are showcased with long camera shot, and are clearly visible while the characters are stuck on an amusement ride.
In the
DC Comicscomic book series All-Star Squadron (debuting in 1981 but set during World War II), the Squadron used the Perisphere as their headquarters.
In the DC Comics comic book series Young All-Stars (debuting in 1987 but also set in World War II), used the Trylon and Perisphere as their headquarters.
Howard Waldrop's 1985 short story "Heirs of the Perisphere" describes the excavation of the
time capsule which was buried at the 1939 World's Fair.
Singer/songwriter
Aimee Mann created a song called "Fifty Years After the Fair" for her 1993 album Whatever, the subject of which is the 1939 World's Fair. The song references the Trylon and Perisphere while suggesting how little of the Fair's bright vision of the future had actually been realized in the "decades ahead" now passed.
In the 1995 episode "
Aubrey" of the TV series The X-Files, the protagonist has visions of Trylon and Perisphere leading the detectives to an important clue.
In author
E. L. Doctorow's semi-autobiographical novel World's Fair, Doctorow tells the story of a boy named Edgar in the late 1930s who lives in the Bronx, which culminates with the 1939 World's Fair. The Trylon and Perisphere are referenced throughout the story.
In
Kenneth Robeson's 1939
Doc Savage novel World's Fair Goblin, the Trylon and Perisphere are depicted on the cover and integral to the story.
In
Rex Stout's 1940
Nero Wolfe novel Where There's a Will, one character says she had "an inferiority complex about the size of the Perisphere" (chapter 8); Archie Goodwin later suggests to a police officer that he "go sit on a trylon" (chapter 13).
The 2015
utopian/
dystopian film
Tomorrowland contains futuristic versions of the Trylon, Perisphere, and Helicline. The Perisphere, in contrast to the 1939 World of Tomorrow exhibit, contains a device that can see into the past; the past is viewed on the sphere's inner surface. Also, unlike the 1939 Perisphere, the future Perisphere floats in mid-air. In the opening of the film, the Disneyland image is altered to include the trio. They also appear in the closing animation.
The 2017 short story "The Past is Important to Us" by
Tom Hanks in his collection Uncommon Type is predominately set in New York City during the 1939 World's Fair and mentions the Trylon and Perisphere among other sights.
The
Batman movie Mask of the Phantasm depicts Bruce Wayne and his girlfriend Andrea Beaumont visiting the Gotham World's Fair. Although not set in 1939, it hearkens back to that World's Fair because this is Batman's origin story and he first appeared in 1939. Thus, the Gotham World's Fair also has structures similar to the Perisphere and Trylon and displays depicting the future.